


Kiss Me

by biblionerd07



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Jealous Steve Rogers, Mission Fic, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-18
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-08 03:48:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3194153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biblionerd07/pseuds/biblionerd07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky's date keeps brushing him off when the Kiss Cam focuses on them, and Steve doesn't appreciate Bucky not being appreciated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kiss Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lickerish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lickerish/gifts).



> This is based on [the tumblr post](http://carry-on-my-otp.tumblr.com/post/107356501768/dont-be-a-dick-to-your-gf-or-benny-the-bulls)

“I officially love this mission.” Clint’s voice came through the comms, laughing so hard it was difficult to understand what he was saying. Steve pursed his lips, but no one could see it. No one could see it because Steve had a giant fuzzy red head covering his own head. They were undercover at a basketball game, where a scientist had threatened to loose a biological weapon on the crowd. Steve was too well-known to really go undercover, so he was the mascot.

Sometimes he seriously hated being a superhero.

“Can you please take a picture?” Bucky muttered into his own comm. Bucky, of course, got to be front and center to this mission. Bucky was the scientist’s date. He got to wear regular clothes and style his hair and not wear a mascot suit. Though he did have to wear some kind of holographic skin over his metal arm, since that was pretty noticeable, and Steve had noticed his discomfort with it before they took their positions.

“Shut up,” Steve complained. “I’m sweating.”

“I just barely put the head on you,” Natasha pointed out, her voice distorted through the big head covering his ears.

“God, it’s hot in here,” Steve moaned.

“Cap, are you going to dance at halftime?” Tony crowed from somewhere in a top box. He didn’t even have to go undercover. Of course he owned a season pass and yet this was the first time he’d used it. Rhodey was with him, because being Tony’s best friend had pretty good perks, and so was Thor, because he just didn’t know enough about basketball to be able to blend into the crowd easily.

“If you guys aren’t nice to Steve, he’s going to gore you with his horns,” Sam warned through his own laughter. He got to be security. Of course he was laughing.

“Don’t worry, Steve, we’re measuring your vitals and we’ll make sure you don’t overheat,” Bruce reassured him from his post outside in a van. Everyone thought it would be best if Bruce wasn’t in the building for a high-intensity event like a sports game with the possibility of biological warfare. “Maybe you can try to get some ventilation through your tail.”

“Okay, everyone go ahead. Laugh it up.” Steve figured his dignity was long gone anyway. He felt Natasha’s small hand pat his shoulder, but he also knew her well enough to be sure she’d snapped a few pictures and was probably laughing at him, too.

Natasha had to leave to take her place as a camera operator, and Steve soon found himself bombarded by people wanting to take a picture with him. This, at least, he was used to, and at least his blushing face was hidden for once during these kinds of encounters.

“Well, hello there,” Bucky said to his date, the evil scientist. Apparently his dates called him Adam. How anticlimactic. Steve could hear Bucky’s teasing charm coming through the comms and his stomach clenched a little. He knew it was all an act, but he couldn’t help the little thrum of jealousy that went through him.

“Yeah, I love basketball,” Bucky continued his flirting, though they could only hear one side. That was a lie and Steve knew it. Bucky did not care one bit about basketball. They were baseball people and proud of it.

“Boy, look how red Cap’s face is,” Clint cracked, then quickly said, “Yes, popcorn right here!” He seemed to actually be enjoying his assignment as a popcorn and hot dog vendor.

“You know, the mascot usually dances or does tricks,” Tony pointed out conversationally. “Seems a little suspicious if he just stands in the back and sulks.”

“True,” Natasha chimed in. “I don’t have any footage of the mascot so far. People won’t be happy.”

Steve muffled a groan. He did not want to do this. But never let it be said that Captain America didn’t do what was necessary to protect the public. With a sigh, he forced himself to start doing some of his old USO choreography in the aisles. The hoots of his friends mingled with the cheers from the fans around him.

“I just really like the mascot,” Bucky replied to an unheard question, voice strained from holding in laughter.

“I hate you,” Steve told him, and heard a little bark of laughter Bucky couldn’t contain.

It wasn’t actually that bad. Some little kids got up and started dancing with him, which helped. More people asked to take a picture with him. He distinctly felt someone cop a feel and he yelped a little at the hand squeezing his ass.

“Everything still good?” Sam asked, hearing his distress.

“Yeah, if you don’t count the crowd getting handsy.” Steve heard Bucky clear his throat to suppress a snort.

“Yeah, go ahead, take a phone call,” Bucky enunciated clearly into the comm.

“On it,” Bruce reported. “Jarvis is tracing.”

“Could be a phone-controlled trigger,” Tony mumbled, clearly busy working on something as well. “Barnes, be ready to take the phone.”

One of the teams called a time-out and Steve did some cartwheels on the side of the court. The crowd started cheering once the Kiss Cam lit up. An older couple laughed and gave each other a quick peck. A teenage couple went scarlet and sloppily bumped into each other.

And then the Cam settled on Bucky and Adam. Steve couldn’t help the little noise he made in the back of his throat. He really appreciated the view of Bucky—hair pulled back into a bun with a few wisps escaping, freshly shaven, eyes bright, wide smile—but he wasn’t a big fan of seeing Bucky kiss someone else, even knowing it was for a mission and Steve got the last kiss at the end of the day.

But Adam was so busy on the phone he didn’t notice. Bucky played his part, smiling at their image on the screen and tapping Adam’s shoulder, and Adam held out a finger to indicate Bucky should wait. Steve bristled. Sure, it wasn’t a _real_ date, and it wasn’t like Bucky actually cared that this guy wasn’t paying attention to him, but the sight of someone brushing Bucky off made Steve want to spit. The camera moved on to other couples who weren’t ignoring the action. Steve started drifting toward where Bucky and Adam were sitting.

“He is definitely trying to send out some kind of signal over his call,” Bruce reported.

“I know, I know, I’m blocking it for now,” Tony said quickly. “He’s not bad, you know. Not as good as me, obviously, but his system is—it’s rewriting every time I block it. He’s making me work for it. I like it.”

“You’re starting to sound creepy again,” Sam pointed out. “Just a head’s up. In case you liked to know that kind of thing.”

“Man, whoever’s working that Kiss Cam is really into Bucky,” Clint said, his eye-roll practically audible.

“Just keeping the target in sight,” Natasha defended her choice innocently.

Bucky tapped Adam’s arm again and Adam shot him an annoyed look. The people in the seats around them were starting to help Bucky out, too, shouting and laughing and pointing and clapping, and Adam was visibly getting frazzled.

“Okay, he’s sweating,” Bucky murmured into the comm. “He’s getting nervous and that could be a bad thing.”

“Yeah, well, I’m blocking his signals, so it’s not going to be too bad,” Tony snapped, annoyed that Bucky would doubt him.

“I’m just sayin’, is all, if he’s got something else planned as a backup.”

“I’m almost to your position,” Sam said.

“Me too,” Steve reported.

“Good, maybe you can stomp him with your hooves,” Clint laughed. Steve just huffed and kept dancing his way down the stairs to Bucky’s seat.

“He does have a backup!” Tony suddenly said, just as the Cam focused on them again and Adam yet again rebuffed Bucky’s attempts to engage him. “Get that phone away from him!”

Steve didn’t even stop to think. He grabbed Bucky’s beer and splashed it in Adam’s face, shoving him back down into his seat when he tried to stand up. His phone flew out of his hand and Sam conveniently kicked it away. Clint, who happened to be bringing a hot dog to someone in the row across the aisle, neatly pocketed it.

And, since the Kiss Cam was still on them, Steve didn’t see why he couldn’t indulge the crowd. He lifted the mascot head just enough so his lips were uncovered and pressed them to Bucky’s. The crowd went wild. He swept Bucky off his feet and into his arms to the crowd’s delight. Bucky squawked indignantly but wrapped his arm around Steve’s neck.

Once Steve repositioned the mascot head so his eyes matched up with the holes again, he could see the intensely unimpressed face Bucky was making, but he didn’t care. Sam strong-armed Adam out the other side of aisle and the camera stayed trained on Steve and Bucky, holding the crowd’s attention. Steve carried Bucky up the stairs and out the doors of the arena, and the people cheered the whole time.

“Fucking sap,” Bucky muttered, rolling his eyes, but Steve could see the smile on his face. He always accused Steve of being sappy but he was just as bad.

“Can’t let my best guy go unappreciated on a date, can I?” Steve asked cheekily.

“Yeah, well, you better hurry up and take that head off, big guy, so I can go ahead and keep appreciating you.”

Steve could do nothing but oblige.

**Author's Note:**

> So it turns out the New York Knicks (the obvious choice of basketball team for the Avengers, I guess) has no mascot. And then I was looking for other NBA teams and apparently there is a team called the Brooklyn Nets--perfect! Except they currently have no mascot either. Pft. So the team is unidentified, as is just what exactly Steve's mascot suit is. (Though it's some type of bull for purposes of the team's teasing.)


End file.
